3 Dow Stocks That Missed the Fun Today

The stock market continued its bull market advance today, with the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) pushing upward another 69 points to reach another nearly five-year closing high. Plenty of threats to the global economy remain, but for now, investors are optimistic that powerful and coordinated action from central banks around the world can restore growth back to past levels.

Although two dozen of the Dow's 30 stocks were up today, a few stocks still missed the celebration. The biggest loser on the day was Kraft (NAS: KFT) , falling more than 1%. Analysts remain mixed about the company's future after its coming breakup into two pieces, but the Fool's Austin Smith argues that he thinks that PepsiCo (NYS: PEP) makes a much better play on growth from the international snack business than Kraft's Mondelez segment.

Also down 1% was Home Depot (NYS: HD) . As Fool contributor Matt Thalman discussed earlier today, the home-improvement retailer's sales are linked closely to overall consumer discretionary income. With weak overall wage income growth and higher prices for gasoline and food, Home Depot's long run of higher stock prices may face a big threat going forward.

Finally, Cisco Systems (NAS: CSCO) dropped more than half a percent today. With all the focus in tech centering on releases of smartphones and mobile devices and falling demand for traditional PCs, Cisco seems to be out of the spotlight this week. But none of those devices are worth a thing without connectivity, and Cisco needs to capture the opportunity to reestablish its former leadership role throughout the networking space. With a host of smaller competitors vying for sales, that's a far more difficult task than it once was, which may indicate why Cisco has had ongoing trouble keeping its stock price up despite its recently raised dividend.

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The article 3 Dow Stocks That Missed the Fun Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributorDan Caplingerdoesn't own shares of the companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on Twitter,@DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool owns shares of Cisco Systems and PepsiCo.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Home Depot and PepsiCo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Fool has adisclosure policy.

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